Steve Cooper might have found a short term fix to his Nottingham Forest selection woes by turning to trusted players.
However, the question of how he integrates big money signings in the future is unresolved after the 1-1 draw at Wolves. That is the verdict of Forest Focus regular Michael Temple, who was delighted with the point at Molineux on Saturday, but he feels the Reds boss will need to bring back the likes of Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez at some point.
Cooper remains under serious pressure after the Wolves game, where he made seven changes to the XI, but he will hope to pick a first win in over a month when Forest face top four contender Tottenham in the Premier League at the City Ground on Friday night.
Speaking on Monday's podcast, he said:"He's obviously decided in what could be a last throw of the dice for him that he wants to be represented by players he can trust. However, that came at the expense of leaving out more technically gifted players and picking a team I don't think anyone saw coming.
"We got a point and it was a good point. There were chances second half, most notably that Harry Toffolo header, but he's in a difficult place now because blood and thunder will get you so far.
"A midfield three of Yates, Mangala and Kouyate, whilst he clearly backs those players and trusts them to enact a game plan and cover distance, we've got some serious talent on the bench which has been signalled to in no uncertain terms that he doesn't trust them as much as the guys he picked on Saturday.
"I'm fascinated to see the team he picks for the Spurs game. I still want us to put together a run of results which prevents the need for any change of manager. However, I feel he's in a bit of a cul-de-sac here where his selection will bring counter challenges and leave some players unhappy.
"I'm really pleased with the point but I'm struggling to get into Cooper's headspace and see where he goes next."
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